Life, 1912-05-02 · page 41 of 58
Life — May 2, 1912 — page 41: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily a **tire company advertisement**, not political satire. The page features a woman seated on a large automobile tire, used as visual product placement. The ad's central pitch plays on a practical paradox: buyers can benefit from others' expensive tire failures without paying premium prices themselves. The slogan "Second hand experience is just as efficient and infinitely cheaper than first hand" suggests that Kelly-Springfield tires perform as reliably as competitors' products while costing less—essentially claiming the buyer gets proven quality at bargain rates. The illustration of vintage automobiles and the woman's fashionable 1920s-era clothing establish this as aspirational consumer marketing to middle-class car owners. The extensive list of branch offices emphasizes the company's national reach and stability, lending credibility to their durability claims established over sixteen years of manufacturing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Kelly-Springfield Automobile Tire Second hand experience is just as efficient and \ infinitely cheaper than jfirst hand. Take your tire experience from what others have learned, at great expense, on other tires, and get your tuition free. Get the best tires first by getting Kelly-Springfield Automobile Tires. The name “Kelly-Springfield” on a tire © stands for the same quality of rubber com- ; pound, the same tire-making experience, and Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. the same care in manufacture, that have, for 20 Vesey St., New York Henichiodices'ia sixteen years, made the Kelly-Springfield solid New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, . . ‘ Pi St. Louis, Detroit,’ Cincinnati, San Francisco, Los Angeles, yehicle tire the best of its kind. C\-veland, Baltimore, Washington, Seattle, Atlanta, Akron, O., Buffalo. Boss Rubber Co., Denver, Colo. Kelly-Springfield Tire Co. Appel & Burwell Rubber & Tire Company, Dallas, Texas, : Todd Rubber Co., New Haven, Conn. New York and Akron, Ohio comicbooks.com